Raising the supplements question: do dietary supplements deliver as promised, or should the buyer beware?

Better Nutrition, Sept, 2002 by Joe Lewandowski

In the lush farmland of the foothills of the Cascade Mountains, workers at Oregon's Wild Harvest tend to 70 different types of herbal plants. After they're picked, the organically grown herbs are sent to the company's quality assurance lab where they're identified, inspected and tested for pathogens such as E. coli, fecal coliform, salmonella, aerobic bacteria, yeasts and molds.

After the herbs are milled into powder, they're tested again. Some of the powder is packaged into capsules--which also are subject to testing.

"People who are taking herbs might have weakened immune systems, so we're very prudent. We don't want to cause them any problems," says Joanne Roberts, director of quality assurance for Oregon's Wild Harvest.

The company maintains this rigid approval process for one simple reason: It pledges to deliver to customers exactly what it promises.

The firm, based in Sandy, Oregon, serves as a stellar example of how a nutritional supplement company can handle its products. But consumers should be aware that not all supplement makers are created equal. While most companies produce quality goods, it pays to do your homework and deal only with manufacturers that truly care about what goes into your favorite supplements and herbal formulas.

The supplement industry consists of a maelstrom of hundreds of manufacturers purchasing ingredients from thousands of suppliers who, in turn, formulate the ingredients into tens of thousands of products. Each package must list ingredients, but there's no guarantee that the product actually contains the amounts of ingredients stated on the label.

On top of that, questionable health claims made by some less-than-reputable companies serve to raise concerns--from consumers as well as industry officials and government regulators. As more products made of more new ingredients and formulas find their way to store shelves, consumers who rely on supplements need to learn about the products they're taking.

Oregon's Wild Harvest is a good example of a company that cares. When the company started in 1990, it purchased all of its stock from secondary growers and suppliers. But in 1994, quality concerns led the company to start producing its own ingredients. Now, Oregon's Wild Harvest grows 85 percent of its own herbs and purchases only from other farmers who abide by strict production rules.

"We can't completely rely on suppliers," said Pam Martin, who owns the company with her husband, Randy. "A lot of raw materials come from Third World countries. When they come in powdered form, it's tough to identify exactly what's in there."

Various manufacturers' and consumer groups have reported finding pesticides, herbicides, heavy metals and other contaminants in imported products. One men's virility supplement was found to be spiked with the drug Viagra; another product claiming to be a "natural steroid" was laced with pharmaceutical steroids.

independent testing

Leaders in the supplement industry take the notion of product safety and purity seriously. During the past decade, supplement makers have worked cooperatively to develop standards known as Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs), which control how products are made and tested (see sidebar).

This year, for the first time, supplement companies will also be able to obtain manufacturing quality and standards certification from private auditing organizations that specialize in foods and pharmaceuticals.

But even though the certification process brings more credibility to the industry, it doesn't guarantee total product integrity. Tod Cooperman, MD, began his interest in supplements in the mid-'90s. When he couldn't find an independent evaluation service, he decided to start one of his own.

In 1999, Cooperman founded Consumerlab.com; ever since, the company has been a boon to consumers and a thorn in the side of some manufacturers.

Cooperman hired a former US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) chemist to test the quality and amount of ingredients present in different supplement products. Consumerlab also tests the pills and capsules themselves to make sure they break down properly to allow absorption by the body. Products for testing are picked at random from store shelves.

Test results are neither complimentary to the industry nor encouraging for consumers.

"What we've found is that, across the board, a quarter of the products we test cannot pass," Cooperman says. Products that fail are found to contain too little or too much of the ingredients promised or are contaminated. Here's a sampling of popular supplement products that flunked basic integrity tests:

* Valerian, 47 percent failure rate;

* Ginseng, 59 percent;

* Echinacea, 44 percent;

* Saw palmetto, 37 percent;

* St. John's wort, 33 percent.

If those results aren't bad enough, consider this about nutrition bars: Sixty percent of those tested did not contain the amount of nutrients claimed.

Other products fared better, though the results can't exactly be considered stellar:

* Vitamin and mineral products, 15 percent failure rate;